Boosting the Visitor Economy in Western Sydney

Release Date: 30/10/2014

The Sydney Business Chamber has described the domestic tourism economy as set to remain robust, as economic fundamentals show the Australian dollar tracking to 80 cents over the next three years, according to the recent Deloitte Access Economics Business Outlook report.

Tomorrow’s NRMA BusinessWise series event at ANZ Stadium will discuss the necessary funding and infrastructure priorities necessary to grow the visitor economy in Western Sydney.

David Borger, Western Sydney Director of the Sydney Business Chamber said, “Domestic visitors grew at its fastest pace in 2013 since 2007, with growth of 6.6% over the last twelve months. The true numbers are probably even higher as Western Sydney’s large multicultural population has large numbers of unreported visitors, friends and relatives coming to the region.

“There was $500,000 allocated to developing a Western Sydney Tourism Strategy in the 2014 NSW budget. This cannot come soon enough given that by 2024 half of Sydney’s population will be in Western Sydney.

“The tourism industry in Western Sydney is fragmented. The purpose of the event is to bring together everyone, to understand common issues and aspirations, and form cohesive objectives.

“This event represents one of the first steps to inform the brief for the Western Sydney Tourism Strategy.

“Creating the right strategy is the key to the continued growth of Western Sydney’s tourism sector.

“The lower Australian dollar and the approval of the Badgerys’s Creek Airport will drive significant tourism opportunities for Western Sydney, so we need to get this strategy right,” said David Borger.

The NSW Business Chamber -Tourism Industry Division and the Sydney Business Chamber are hosting this event with leaders from Sydney’s business, government, academic, innovation, tourism, sectors to explore tourism opportunities in Western Sydney.